


The Soul Calls

by LucindaAM



Series: I'll Always Find You [1]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: A lil' self doubt, Chasing after you, F/M, Light Swearing, No Smut, Soulmate AU, angst if you squint, fluuffff, mostly just fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:41:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25494028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LucindaAM/pseuds/LucindaAM
Summary: Tony Stark thought he'd given up on love. Who could want a broken mess like him? Certainly not Pepper.Then he met his soulmate.
Relationships: Tony Stark/Reader
Series: I'll Always Find You [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2045368
Comments: 10
Kudos: 174





	1. Chapter 1

I traced a light finger over the odd pattern on the inside of my elbow. It wasn’t anything fancy or intricate. Nothing like my best friend’s Celtic Knot or my bosses looping calligraphy. Mine was just a simple triangle. In fact, the only thing that really made it stand out was the perfect angles and the perfect symmetry. It was something that wouldn’t have occurred naturally. Nope. Which meant that it could be one thing and one thing only. 

A soulmate mark. 

Soulmates were rare. More so now than they’d once been. No one knew what had changed, but those who still had the symbols were considered blessed by the gods themselves. 

Soulmates existed in various forms or another throughout history. Most religions and cultures had some concept of them. My personal favorite had always been the myth of the red string of fate from Chinese legends. It was said that two souls were tied together with a red string, one that drew the two hearts together slowly over a lifetime until the two hearts were joined as one. It was a beautiful legend, one that I’d regularly turned to when the dark thoughts of depression snuck in telling me that I was never going to find my soulmate or that even if I did . . . he’d never want me. 

Now the story seemed to mock my pain. 

I reached for my coffee and took a sip as the memories of the morning closed in over me. I’d been walking down the street, minding my own business when I’d tripped and nearly faceplanted on the sidewalk. Lucky for me, two strong arms had reached out to catch me. I hadn’t even realized I’d been walking in front of the Avengers Tower until my eyes had looked up at the face of my savior. 

Heat had surged up my arm and without checking, I knew the triangle by my elbow was lit up like a Christmas Tree. My eyes widened but I managed to choke back the gasp that was threatening to spill from my lips. Tony Stark’s eyes were on mine. I could practically feel them burning a hole into my head even though I couldn’t see them behind his mirrored sunglasses. He opened his mouth to say something, but I shook my head frantically and backed into the crowd, letting the swell of reporters surge forward, blocking me from view. As soon as I could get through the pack, I turned and fled. 

So much for that. 

Everyone knew the playboy didn’t do relationships. Hell, the longest one he’d ever had had been with one Virgina “Pepper” Potts and it had ended as publicly as it had begun. As someone who preferred living life in the shadows, I knew better than to even try. This was one hill I wasn’t willing to fight and die on. 

I took another sip of the now lukewarm coffee before I threw a handful of bills on the table and slipped from the coffee shop. I pulled my coat closer around me and slunk into the hustle and bustle of New York City and back to my motel room. I was going to finish up the job and then I was going to find the first flight out of the city that never sleeps and back home to Colorado. There was a tub of ice cream with my name on it in my freezer. 

Tony------------ 

I slipped on the sunglasses as I moved to leave the lobby of the tower. I could already see the swarm of reporters across the street, waiting, watching. I stifled a sigh. A few years ago, I would have relished the opportunity to address the adoring public. Things were different now. I wasn’t the golden boy the media had once painted me as. The Avengers did a lot of good, but we left a lot of damage in our wake. It didn’t matter how many charities I tried to set up or how much good we tried to do behind the scenes. All that really mattered to people these days was the damage we left behind to begin with. 

“What if I take the suit?” I asked, barely glancing at Happy. He was staring out at the sea of reporters with a scowl on his face. 

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” 

“No? I think people probably expect it by now.” 

Happy grunted. 

I sighed. “Fine. Let’s just get this over with.” 

Happy took the lead, pressing outside, trying to clear a path to the car. I was almost right behind him when a woman who was walking past, staring intently at her cellphone, tripped over thin air. Instinctively, my hands reached out to steady her. The second my skin came in contact with hers, heat shot up my arm and without checking I knew that the triangle I’d had been imprinted on my arm since birth was lit up like the Fourth of July. My eyes widened and I watched hers do the same thing. Her mouth gapped open and closed as she seemed to struggle to form a single thought. 

I opened my mouth to say something, anything, but she started shaking her head frantically. Before I could stop her, she ripped herself out of my grasp and melted into the crowd, letting the sea of reporters swallow her whole. Microphones and cameras were shoved into my face as I stood on tip-toe to try and track my soulmates progress through the crowd. 

Somehow I managed to signal to Happy that I needed to get out of the crowd and back into the tower. He helped push my way back through the crowd, yelling; “No comment. No comment.” As we went. 

The second we were back inside, I was racing for the elevators with Happy hot on my trail. 

“What’s wrong, boss?” He called. 

“That girl! She was my soulmate!” 

The second I was inside the elevator I started spamming the button for the R&D floor. “JARVIS, get me the security tapes for the front of the building for the past five minutes.” I ordered. 

Happy shuffled on his feet, nervously. 

“What?” I asked him. 

“You sure about this boss? I mean . . . if you know then she has to know too right?” 

I nodded tautly as the elevator surged upwards. 

Happy continued. “So . . . why’d she run?” 

My heart sunk for a brief moment. There were too many reasons why she would have run. My life before Iron Man wasn’t exactly a shining paragon of virtue self-respect. She could have run because of any of that. 

Hell, she could have BECAUSE of Iron Man. It was what had driven Pepper away ultimately after all. 

I shook my head. “I don’t know why she ran, Happy.” I said quietly, a firm determination taking root in my chest. “But I’m not gonna go down without a fight. If she doesn’t want to be with me . . . fine. But I’m gonna make her give me a fair chance first.” 

Happy didn’t say anything else and for that I was grateful. 

For the first time in a long time I had a blooming hope in my chest and I wasn’t ready for anyone to destroy it.


	2. Chapter 2

The flight home was blissfully uneventful, even if it was painfully long. By the time I finally managed to stumble into my apartment, it was on the wrong side of midnight and I was dead on my feet. 

“Hey ALVIN.” I called into the apartment. The apartment lit up with a light glow that made me smile. 

“Welcome home, gorgeous.” The AI said. 

“Good to be home. Can you check the security system? Crime’s on the rise.” 

The system hummed for a minute as I started shedding clothes as I walked down the hallway. I was too tired to deal with this today. 

“Everything is secure.” ALVIN finally said. 

“Thanks buddy.” 

ALVIN hummed gently in response and I let his soothing sounds brush over my consciousness. 

“Did anything . . . interesting happen on your trip?” My AI suddenly asked. 

I froze in the middle of trying to pull my shirt off over my head. 

“N . . . no. Why do you ask?” I stuttered. Shucking my shirt, and tossing it on the chair in the corner. 

“You’re a bad liar, gorgeous.” The AI said fondly. “And your mark is glowing.” 

I glanced at my arm for the first time since that morning. It was like a frigging glow-stick. 

“What the hell?” I muttered, gently stroking the thing. 

Halfway around the world, Tony sucked in a startled breath. 

“ALVIN . . . should it still be glowing like this?” 

ALVIN hummed. “Though it’s unusual for it to glow for so long after a meeting . . . it’s not unheard of.” 

“Mm-hm. Mm-hmm.” I did my best not to freak out. 

“May I ask who the lucky soul is?” 

“No!” I all but shouted. 

An awkward silence filled the air. 

“I . . . I’m sorry, ALVIN. I just . . . It’s not going to work out with him.” I squeezed my eyes shut. 

“I see.” The AI responded. “Was he already married?” 

I choked on my laugh. “What?!” 

“Was your soulmate already married? I assume that’s why it won’t work out.” 

I laughed again. “No, ALVIN. Nothing like that.” 

“Then I fail to see how you can be so sure it won’t work.” 

I sighed, my shoulders sagging under the weight of everything. 

“It just won’t, ALVIN.” I whispered miserably. “Can you drop it? I just want to sleep for the next several days.” 

ALVIN sighed. “Of course, gorgeous. Whatever you need.” 

I smiled softly as I climbed into bed in just my underwear. I was too tired to bother doing anything else. 

As I quickly slipped into oblivion, I did my best not to think about my soulmate hundreds of miles away and the life I wished I could have had with him. 

Tony---------------- 

I started at my mark for a long minute with bated breath. The feeling of something gently stroking it had shot through me with enough force to practically send me to my knees. How long had someone touched me like that? Not for a few years at least . . . 

Not since Potts . . . 

I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths. 

“Where are we on that facial recognition software, JARVIS?” I asked, straightening. My fingers practically twitched with the needed to get out of the lab and DO something. My soulmate was out there, right NOW. I needed to FIND her. 

“As you know, the camera angles hid her face, sir. But I believe I have managed to make an approximation of her likeness based on the information you provided me.” A computer generated image flashed on the screen. “Is this the woman you saw earlier?” 

I sucked in a deep breath. It wasn’t perfect, but it was close. It was you. 

“Yeah, JARVIS. Great work. That’s her. Can you run it?” 

“Already on it, sir.” 

A ding echoed through the lab catching me off guard. I hadn’t expected a response so soon. I flung my hands up in the air, throwing the file up in front of me. 

My breath caught in my throat again as I saw the photo tied to your file. That was it. This was you. I could never forget your face. 

I opened the file. “Graduated MIT with honors. She was young. Almost as young as I was.” I noted absently. “Working in the tech business still. Huh. Why doesn’t she work for me?” I asked, flipping through her records. 

“She has never lived in New York. Perhaps she was not interested in relocating?” JARVIS responded. 

“Maybe . . .” I said, unconvinced. “We have an address?” I asked. 

An address in Colorado appeared on my screen. 

“How fast can the suit get me there?” I asked. 

“Sir, I don’t think that’s a wise idea . . .” 

“I’m not paying you to think, JARVIS.” 

“You don’t pay me at all, sir.” JARVIS responded smartly. 

I shook my head and bit back my grin. It faded off my face as I glanced over your file. 

“This is it, J. This could be it. If my soulmate doesn’t want me . . .” I trailed off, letting the sentence die on my lips. 

For a long second, JARVIS didn’t respond and I was actually about to check his programing when he suddenly sighed. “Going top speed, you should reach Colorado by seven this morning, her time.” He said. 

A smile lit up my face and I spun around for the suit JARVIS was already walking my way. 

“Thanks, J.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tony's never been one to give up easily. Though he doesn't always think things through . . .


	3. Chapter 3

A knocking sound pulled me from my deep sleep. 

“Gorgeous . . . you need to wake up.” 

I groaned and slapped my hand around my bedside table, blindly searching for the snooze button. “Five more minutes.” I muttered groggily. 

“Gorgeous. You REALLY need to wake up.” 

“Go away, ALVIN.” I murmured tossing a pillow at the wall. 

ALVIN sighed, but for a few blissful seconds, went quiet. 

I sighed in relief and snuggled deeper into my blankets. 

“I’m letting him in.” 

That got my attention. 

I shot bolt right up in bed. “What the hell?” 

I heard my front door open. “Uh, hello?” A voice called. 

“What the HELL?!” I hissed furiously, jumping from my bed. I threw my drawers open and quickly dressed in the first things my fingers found. 

That was Tony Stark’s voice. TONY STARK was in my house. 

“I’m going to DISMANTLE you.” I seethed at my AI as I quickly pulled my pants on. 

“I love you too, gorgeous.” 

I threw my shirt on and raced to my bedroom door. My hand was shaking as I reached out to turn the knob. At the last second, I grabbed the aluminum baseball bat I kept next to my closet. I thought you recognized the voice, sure. But it didn’t hurt to be safe. 

I crept down the hallway, stepping lightly over the clothes I’d left scattered on the floor last night as I neared the living room. 

I raised the baseball bat over my shoulder as I peeked around the corner. 

A flashy suit of red and gold stood in the middle of my living room, back turned to me. 

I must have let out a gasp, because the suit suddenly spun around to face me. 

“Whoa! Hey! Hi!” Tony Stark’s face was peeking out of the suit as he took in my defensive position. “Just me! It’s just me!” He held his hands up in surrender. 

I stood frozen in my position as I glanced up at him. “What are you doing here?” I demanded breathlessly. 

Tony smirked, but my soulmate mark practically pulsed with the nervousness that he was doing his best to keep hidden. “Well I was in town . . .” He trailed off and gestured towards my bat. “You want to maybe . . . lower that?” He asked. 

I’d forgotten I was holding it. I lowered it to my side but kept my grip firmly on it. Tony seemed to notice this as he pursed his lips. 

“What are you doing here? How’d you get in?” 

Tony awkwardly flexed his suits fingers as he glanced anywhere but at me. “Well . . . I uh . . . we’re soulmates.” He said. 

I was unused to seeing the billionaire so out of sorts. On the TV he was always the picture of self-confidence. 

“I know.” I whispered. 

Tony’s eyebrows drew together. “Oh. You know. Okay. So . . . uh. Well . . .” He trailed off again. “Well . . . you ran. And I . . . came here.” 

I blinked at him slowly and he gestured behind him. “The door opened by itself. I swear.” 

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “ALVIN!” I grumbled loudly. “I’m gonna KILL you!” 

“You wouldn’t do that, gorgeous.” 

Tony jumped. “Uh . . . boyfriend?” He asked nervously. 

ALVIN scoffed. “I am her Automated Living Virtual Intelligence Network or, AI if you prefer.” 

Tony’s eyes bugged out of his head as he glanced at me. “JARVIS?” He asked breathlessly. 

A sound hummed around me. “Scans indicate there is another AI present. Examining the readings indicate a level of artificial intelligence that may rival my own . . .” 

"That’s too kind.” ALVIN said, a hint of smugness in his tone. 

I sighed. 

“You . . . you built an AI in your apartment?” Tony’s voice held a hint of awe in it. 

I shrugged a shoulder. “I had some free time.” 

Tony gaped at me for a moment before he slipped out of his suit. He shook his head as he paced towards me. “I don’t think you understand . . .” He said. A wide smile lit up his face. “You really are my soulmate.” 

My heart stuttered in my chest as I listened to his words. He sounded almost as though he wanted it. Like he wanted . . . Me. 

“You . . . want a soulmate?” I couldn’t stop myself from asking. 

Tony looked up at me, a timid yet hopeful smile on his face. “Honey, I’ve been waiting for you all my life.” He stepped toward me and gently placed a hand on my face. Our shared marks hummed with energy and made me feel . . . warm. 

I wanted to give into it, but I wasn’t sure I could. I didn’t bounce back from heart-break easily. If I did this with Tony and it didn’t work out . . . I wasn’t sure I'd survive it. 

Tony smiled gently and swiped a finger down the furrow in my brow. “I can feel you overthinking this, Honey. Don’t. I want this. I want you.” 

I let out a breathless chuckle even as I felt myself relaxing around this virtual stranger. But was he really a stranger? He was my soulmate after all. Our souls knew each other. 

“I’m sorry.” I murmured. “It’s just . . . Iron Man. Iron Man is my soulmate.” I glanced up at him and smiled. 

He smiled back at me and something in his seemed to relax in that moment. He pulled me close to his chest and chuckled. “I see how it is. You’re more interested in the suit than the man.” 

I laughed and held up a hand. ALVIN projected a holographic set of blueprints over it. “It’s just that I had some thoughts . . .” I started, pulling apart the schematics of an Iron Man suit I'd been tinkering with in my free time. 

I didn’t see the way Tony’s face lit up as he watched me talk or the way he pressed a kiss to my head as I explained my logic. 

I definitely didn’t see as a piece he hadn’t known was missing slipped into place in his heart. 

We didn’t know it, but we’d just found home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Needed something Fluffy. Soulmatey. And short. This answered all three.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! :D

**Author's Note:**

> They say, when it's your birthday that you blow out the candles and wish for something magical.
> 
> This is almost like that.


End file.
